The Board has determined that the July 1999 denial of service connection for a right knee disorder is not final, and thus the original claim remains pending. The veteran's left knee disability, characterized as degenerative joint disease, meets the criteria for a 10 percent rating under DC 5260. Additionally, the veteran's residuals of a left knee injury, including atrophy, removal or deterioration of a portion of the lateral and posterior menisci, meet the criteria for a separate 10 percent rating under DC 5258.
The deciding factor: The VA medical examination findings supported the application of the schedular criteria for both degenerative joint disease of the left knee and residuals of a left knee injury, including atrophy, removal or deterioration of a portion of the lateral and posterior menisci.
- Claimed conditions
- right knee disorder, headaches, joint pain, irritation of the eyes, chest pain, loss of memory, lack of concentration, depression, sleep disturbance
- How they argued it
- Direct service connection
- Exposure basis
- None
- Rating assigned
- None in this decision
- Decision date
- December 12, 2006
- Citation
- 0638593
Veterans Law Judge
Decisions by this judge: 1,419 · Granted: 21% (granted or partly granted, in the vetted decisions on this site)
Judge attribution: 2025 complete; earlier years partial.
This is a plain-language summary generated by AI from a public Board of Veterans’ Appeals decision. It can contain errors — always verify against the original. Look up the original decision on VA.gov (opens in a new tab) using citation 0638593.
What this means for you
A denial is a starting point, not the end of the road. You can see why this claim fell short — and, if you are still inside the one-year window, the appeal lanes that may remain open to you.
What you can do next
Related decisions
Other Board decisions on a similar condition or argued the same way.
- Granted
The Board has determined that the Veteran's headaches are at least as likely as not caused by his service-connected traumatic brain injury, and thus grants service connection for this condition.
- Remanded (sent back)
The Board has remanded the case due to incomplete development of records and will provide a supplemental statement of the case if necessary.
- Partly granted
The Board has not made a final determination on the claims of service connection for inguinal hernia, PTSD, joint pain, fibromyalgia, left knee disability, right knee disability, tinnitus, chronic fatigue syndrome, respiratory disability, sleep disorder, IBS, and headaches. The claims are remanded to obtain additional evidence and determine if these conditions are related to service.
- Remanded (sent back)
The Board has remanded the case for additional development, including obtaining in-service psychiatric treatment records and scheduling a VA examination to determine the nature and etiology of any acquired psychiatric disorder.
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